A suggestion a day from the Williamsburg Regional Library

Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery

I am reviewing this book in honor of my grandmother who loved it. She died nineteen years ago, but had she lived she would have turned 100 this June. Anne of Green Gables is well-known, but I will try to convince you why it is worth another look for adults who may have been put off by the saccharine TV series and movies associated with the books.

My Grandmother gave me her Anne of Green Gables books shortly before she died and I have been dragging them around the world with me ever since (sadly, not to their great benefit). In these days of e-books I especially appreciate these books as objects. When I hold one of her books in my hand, without even starting to read it, it tells me a lot. It is a well-worn hard cover, yellowed and spotted, with a cup ring on the front. The spine is starting to sag and the thick, soft pages are getting brittle. In the front is written, “Gwenyth, 31/10/38” and her address. This is the address that I loved to visit as a child and the book still faintly smells of her house. As an adult I know that in 1938 my grandmother had one small child and was mourning the loss of a stillborn son, the memory of whom brought tears to her eyes fifty years later. It was the tail end of the depression and the uncertainties and fears of World War II were looming. For my Grandmother money was not abundant so the book represented a precious and much-wanted prize possession.

The story is set around the turn of the last century and centers on Anne Shirley, an orphan who is mistakenly sent from her orphanage to work on a farm. Aging brother and sister Marilla and Matthew wanted a boy to help with the farm work, but they keep Anne anyway. After this inauspicious start they grow to become a family. Anne is a unique and independent soul, who accidentally dyes her hair green, gets her best friend drunk on raspberry cordial, but saves a neighbor’s baby who gets croup. When she is dared to walk the ridge pole of a roof, she feels she must because “My honor is at stake.” After the inevitable fall the girls have the following conversation:

” Anne are you killed?” shrieked Diana, throwing herself on her knees beside her friend. “Oh, Anne, dear Anne, speak just one word to me and tell me if you’re killed.”

To the immense relief of all the girls…Anne sat dizzily up and answered uncertainly:

“No, Diana, I am not killed, but I think I am rendered unconscious.”

“Where?” sobbed Carrie Sloane. “Oh, where, Anne?”

Anne is a literary character who feels real. She has felt like a friend to thousands, perhaps even millions of people, like my grandmother, who have loved her over the last hundred years. Anne of Green Gables is undoubtedly old-fashioned, but there are good reasons that it has stayed in print since it was first published in 1908. Also with good reason, it has been made into over a dozen screen adaptations, starting with a silent movie in 1919 and including a Japanese Anime in 1979. Canada’s Prince Edward Island now has an Anne of Green Gables festival every July. To many of us Avonlea and the surrounding imaginary towns on Canada’s Prince Edward Island feel like our real home, where we really belong.

So, if you read Anne of Green Gables a long time ago, try it again. Or if you have never tried it or have only met Anne Shirley through a TV series or movie, I urge you to check out one of our many copies and enjoy some soul-nourishing summer reading. You never know, you might make a new friend.

Tomorrow I will be blogging about the eighth book in the Anne of Green Gables series, Rilla of Ingleside.

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11 Responses

I loved your Anne recommendation. My absolute favorite book in that series, speaking as an adult, is Anne’s House of Dreams. What do I love about it? The humorous, but loving, characters Anne meets at her new home with Gilbert. The love stories — both of them. The friendship stories. The new setting focusing around the Lighthouse and the sea. It is a story to savor. I re-read it at least once a year.

It is a long time since since I have read Anne’s House of Dreams. I was going to re-read more of the series to help with these blog posts, but only managed to listen to all of Rilla of Ingleside and re-read most of Anne of Green Gables. I like that the series starts out with an interesting child character (Anne) and we get to see her as she grows up. My grandmother used to gossip about the Anne of Green Gables characters like they were distant cousins of ours. I think that is what many people feel about them and that is why they have stayed so popular!

I am glad you are inspired to read it again! Some children’s books are disappointing if you re-read them as an adult, but I don’t think Anne of Green Gables will disappoint you. The series has layers that most children will miss, but adults appreciate.

I planned to re-read more of the series to work on these blog posts, but only managed to listen to Rilla of Ingelside and re-read part of Anne of Green Gables. I am inspired by both your comments to put the rest of the series on the top of my summer reading list!

When I saw the picture on my “Reader” page I immediately opened your blog post. Why?
Because I remember being about 12 years old, receiving the first book from my uncle for Christmas. Eating through it in less than a week, sitting for the rest of the holiday completely stricken with boredom because I couldn’t get my hands on the next books.
Over the next couple of month, all my allowance was spend on those books. I loved every one of them.
I do agree with you that the books contain a lot of layers – I remember having a really hard time reading through Rilla of Ingleside, because it was so much more serious than the past ones. I remember having a difficult time relating to the war, because I was so young. It was only a couple of years later, when I realized I couldn’t NOT finish a series, that I read it through and enjoyed it fully.

I intend to reread the whole thing again soon!
Thank you for writing such a touching blog post. It really made me want to go on adventures with Anne one more time!

My favorite book in the series is Anne of the Island – I’m not sure why but maybe it’s because it resonates with modern times so much, with her becoming so educated and independent, or, in a more silly way, maybe it’s because it’s when she finally realizes she loves Gilbert :-)

I’m on an important quest for a quote from the Anne of Green Gables books (I’m not sure if it’s in the movies or not) mentioned to me once by someone else. I’ve never read it myself, so this description is going to be vague, but after scouring the internet, I found you and you seemed fairly knowledgeable, so if you’re up for the favor, I’d appreciate your help. This quote was said either by Gilbert or Anne (to the other), and I think it was Gilbert but I’m not positive. It is going to be special and moving (enough to be mentioned to me), and it has to do with friendship/companionship/faithfulness/nostalgia/joy of the relationship/looking back over all the times spent together. I know that’s really broad, but for any quotes that pop to mind (or you can find) I would love to know them. My email address is austenmcd@yahoo.com. Thanks so much!

You are right – it is very broad! If the quote you are looking for is from Gilbert and Anne looking back over their lives together, then it would have to be from one of the later books when they are married. From what you describe it might be this:
“For a moment Anne’s heart fluttered queerly and for the first time her eyes faltered under Gilbert’s gaze and a rosy flush stained the paleness of her face. It was as if a veil that had hung before her inner consciousness had been lifted, giving to her view a revelation of unsuspected feelings and realities. Perhaps, after all, romance did not come into one’s life with pomp and blare, like a gay knight riding down; perhaps it crept to one’s side like an old friend through quiet ways; perhaps it revealed itself in seeming prose, until some sudden shaft of illumination flung athwart its pages betrayed the rhythm and the music, perhaps. . . perhaps. . .love unfolded naturally out of a beautiful friendship, as a golden-hearted rose slipping from its green sheath. ”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea

I found this on GoodReads which has a lot of great quotes from books put up there by readers. Have a look through http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/5350.L_M_Montgomery
and maybe you’ll spot what you are seeking.
Good luck! I’ll be interested to hear if the quote above is the correct one.

This book is undoubtedly the greatest work of literature Canada has ever produced. However, I personally found it hard to get behind the character of Anne Shirley. She’s Canada’s greatest heroin: a heroin who cries over everything.